Restless Dreams
by Soulzityr
Summary: Zachary is plagued by haunting nightmares. If he isn't careful, they just might kill him.
1. Dream 1:1

Ok, I'm finally gonna try writing a story again Why? Cuz I feel like it. Yeah...so...starting from scratch...again...I wonder if I'll ever make it past the fifth chapter of _any _of my stories, lol. And yes, I realize at the moment that it really sucks. I'm going to edit it one day.

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Every gasp for breath was a struggle. Every pound of the heart brought a sharp pain. Zach ran down the street of the remains of a city. He ran past house after house, glass windows cracked, doors half-destroyed. The sky was dark and gloomy, a starless night. The moon shone high overhead; it's glare staring down on his back, as though shearing it with intense cold heat. Zach continued to run, desperately trying to escape It. He was certain it was close behind, just out of sight, just out of reach.

He could feel It lurking within the shadows, coming closer, and closer. Within moments It was closed in on him and pounced. With the last remaining energy, Zach gave a great burst of speed and dived forward onto the pavement, his seemingly last chance to resist It at all.

With a thud, he crashed onto the ground. His left palm scraped a shard of glass and blood began flowing, causing him to gasp in pain. It made its presence known, and Zach braced himself, as It jumped…

Zach gave a sudden start. He almost jumped out of his chair as he pushed back and leaned against it, his hands hanging limply at his side. Still gasping for breath, Zach felt sweat trickling down his face. He felt a drop fall down his hand, and he looked down to see that his left palm was covered in blood. He had a cut on it.

Zach squeezed his eyes shut, and put his head back on the edge of the chair's upper rim. After a few moments, as his breathing began to calm, Zach slowly opened his eyes. He saw his homework, now wet with sweat and blood, before him on his desk in his room. His ten questions were still blank, and his pen lay on the floor. He had a desk lamp on the corner of his desk, its neck stretching like a long, withered snake over the desk, casting a luminous glower over his desk. A pencil tray stretched from his desk lamp to the other corner, filled with crumpled pieces of paper and pencils.

Without another moment, Zach reached to his drawer on the right and opened it, revealing a small box. He quickly removed the box from the drawer and shoved his homework to the side, placing the box in middle. Then, he took the cover off and pulled out a photo of a young woman who appeared to be in her late 20s. She was sitting on a bench in a park, with the trees blowing in the background. Her long, soft, brown hair was blowing in the wind, as the trees behind her blew. She had green eyes that were large and soft, and seemed to comfort Zach as he smiled sweetly at the picture of his mother. Carefully, he set the picture aside and reached into the box again to pull out a letter.

Please take care of my baby Zachary. I realize that I am burdening you with a task, but would you please be as so kind as to take care of him. Do not worry, for I will be back to collect him before long. Thank you, kind souls.

Diana

Zachary closed his eyes and rested his head in his arms on his desk. His breathing had already slowed and returned to normal, and he felt relaxed, his muscles not quite so tense. He'd been having these dreams every time he slept, and it always comforted him when he read the letter afterwards. His mother would come back for him, as she promised, but 15 years later he still lived with his adoptive parents. With a sigh, Zachary set his precious items back into his box, and continued to set it back into his drawer. He clasped his hand over his face before realizing it was still covered in blood. With haste, he took a tissue from his box near his desklamp and wiped his face with it. Dripping with blood, he dropped the tissue onto the ground and set his head on the table, too tired to do anything else. But he could not fall asleep. No, if he were to fall asleep, he'd end up back _there_ again. He had to avoid that at all cost. He could not let It kill him, not when his mother would come back one day to get him…


	2. Dream 1:2

Zachary continued his homework, attempting to clear his head and answer the questions. Dawn was breaking, and the faint glimmer of light shown through the window beside him. He could feel the heat trickling over his skin, teasing him with the comforts of warmth; flashes of drowsiness hit Zach, and he forcibly shook himself from the temporary hypnosis. He had been up all night. The sun was almost up by now. He couldn't see. He couldn't think. He could barely breathe. With a relieving sigh of forfeit, Zachary began to clean up his desk, his unfinished homework packed into his folder. Mrs. Athens didn't check Grammar homework, anyways. She usually just called on students to answer the questions. That's the way she always worked.

Zachary smiled and closed his eyes. It's good to get some rest. As long as he didn't fall asleep, as long as he didn't enter that hateful place…

He found himself in a ruined building. _No…_Zachary shook his head in frustration. He had been careless, allowing himself such a momentary reprieve. He almost gave a shout, but quickly caught himself, for he was never sure when It was nearby. He scanned the room in which he found himself. It was made of stone, and pieces of glass littered the ground. A picture frame lay crashed on top of a half-destroyed piano, which in turn was overturned and on top of a lamp that had fallen down. Cracks in the wall were the sole decorations of the wall, and dust gathered in the air whenever the steady wind blew. Not a thing moved, and not a sound was heard.

Coughing from the dust, Zachary stood up from his corner in the room, and rocks tumbled off as he got up from them, and it caused more dust to rise into the air. Falling into a coughing fit, Zachary hastened to gather his hands to cup his mouth, when he noticed movement outside the window. With a sudden burst of speed, Zachary crouched and leaned to the side, hoping he had not been sighted.

He peered out of the window, and saw a figure running down the road. Impossible. There was no one here except for him. He'd been here every night for days and there's been no one else besides him. With haste, Zachary gathered himself and ran to the door, and tried to open it. No use, it was jammed shut. Zachary backed away from the door, and with speed and strength, he rammed against the door with his shoulder, and it buckled easily under his pressure, giving way to him.

Zachary fell through the door, and landed sideways on the ground. Looking down the road, the figure disappeared in a flash as it turned a corner, and Zachary reached out with his hand in desperation. "No…" he mouthed.


End file.
